Bill Gates foundation announces plans to lay off up to 500 staff after $8bn to ex-wife Melinda who divorced tycoon over Jeffrey Epstein links
Bill Gates plans to lay off up to 500 employees at the Gates Foundation over the next five years, just days after it was revealed that he gave $8 billion to his ex-wife Melinda after their divorce over her rumored friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
The Gates Foundation announced Wednesday that it will spend a record-breaking $9 billion in 2026 to accelerate global health efforts and address poverty following the Trump administration’s massive cuts to government spending.
But it will also begin reducing staff numbers by up to 500 people over the next five years after the board imposed a cap on operating costs that will affect staff, salaries, facilities and travel costs.
These expenses should not exceed $1.25 billion (approximately 14 percent of the foundation’s budget).
To achieve this goal, the foundation needs to increase staff positions from 2,375 to 500 by 2030, including some open positions that may remain unfilled.
Mark Suzman, the foundation’s CEO, told the Chronicle of Philanthropy that the effort to reduce expenses will be done in phases rather than coming in a “big wave” and will be reviewed annually.
‘We will do this thoughtfully, carefully and systematically,’ he said.
‘We will recalibrate every year. That target of 500 people is the maximum target. I hope we don’t have to do such a big number.’
Bill Gates plans to lay off up to 500 employees from the Gates Foundation over the next five years, just days after it was revealed that he gave $8 billion to his ex-wife Melinda after their divorce over her rumored friendship with Jeffrey Epstein
Gates’ friendship with the pedophile came to the fore again in December after he was seen in a photo with Epstein in a piece of evidence recovered from the pedophile’s estate.
According to Suzman, the board had concerns about skyrocketing expenses and wanted to make sure the foundation spent money prudently and allocated as many resources as possible to people in need.
The foundation plans to increase spending on programs for women’s health, vaccine development, polio eradication, artificial intelligence and U.S. education.
This comes after the New York Times revealed last week that Gates’ ex-wife Melinda has donated $7.88 billion in 2024 to the Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation.
Melinda resigned from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which they ran together, in May 2024 after splitting from the Microsoft businessman. on rumors about his closeness with the disgraced financier jeffrey epstein.
Gates’ friendship with the pedophile came to the fore again in December after he was seen in a photo with Epstein in a piece of evidence recovered from the pedophile’s estate.
In undated images taken from my tongue, Gates was photographed with two women with blurred faces.
An additional image reveals that Epstein keeps a framed photo of Gates on the wall of his private island mansion.
Gates was also photographed standing next to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew.
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Melinda resigned from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which they co-run, in May 2024 after leaving the Microsoft tycoon amid rumors of his closeness with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Bill and Melinda Gates were photographed together in Sun Valley, Utah in 2015. The couple separated six years later, and Bill recently donated another $8 billion to his wife’s foundation.
Melinda had previously suggested her ex-husband donate $12.5 billion to her new foundation, which works to advance the social advancement of women.
A representative for women’s advocacy group Pivotal confirmed to the Times that the $12.5 billion deal had been honored and that nearly $8 billion in donations were also part of that deal.
The donation was listed on his 2025 tax return, but it’s unclear how the rest of the $12.5 billion deal was split and where the donations were made.
Melinda married Gates in 1994 and split from him in 2021 after the couple had three children.
While few details of their split have been made public, she has previously admitted that her ex-husband’s friendship with disgraced pedophile financier Epstein was a driving factor.
In May, Gates announced that he would donate 99 percent of his enormous fortune in the coming years, leaving one percent for himself and his children.
He has vowed to close down the Gates Foundation by December 31, 2045, effectively ending a lifelong project to achieve his goal of donating his billions.
Gates and Melinda have three adult children, Phoebe, Jennifer and Rory (pictured left to right)
The tech mogul plans to distribute almost all of his wealth (about $200 billion) over the next 20 years.
Bill will only keep one percent of his wealth, which equates to an estimated $1.62 billion.
He has three adult children — Phoebe, Rory and Jennifer — whom he shares with Melinda, and they will likely inherit any remaining cash upon Gates’ death.
The Gates Foundation is the largest foundation in the world that has decided to close down.
